Industry News

European Commission Opens Interim Review
on the Solar Panel Trade Case
Brussels, 3 March 2017 - Today the European Commission announced an interim review
into the price mechanism used to determine the price of panels imported into the European
Union from China. This move follows the announcement to extend the anti-dumping and
anti-subsidy measures applied to imports of solar panels from China for 18 months, a 6
month decrease from the original proposal of 24 months.
James Watson, SolarPower Europe CEO, commented 'Today the European Commission
started the first action in the process of phasing out the deeply unpopular trade measures on
solar panels and cells. The Interim Review appears to suggest that the duties and the
minimum import price (MIP) will be replaced with one single variable MIP that will be
regularly adjusted to reflect market developments. It is very important that any new
mechanism does reflect the market today, as the former MIP became obsolete based on its
failure to reflect the market to even the tiniest degree.'
Kristina Thoring, Political Communications Advisor at SolarPower Europe, added 'We
encourage the European Commission to bring forward a system that reflects the global
market price so that European industries, companies and consumers can benefit from the
huge fall in the cost of solar. The trade measures have denied this to our society for the past
4 years. We will engage with the European Commission and the Member States to make
sure that the views of the European solar industry are taken into account.'
The Interim Review on the trade measures could last for up to 9 months, however, with theduration of the extension of measures of just 18 months it is hoped that the European
Commission will complete this Interim Review as soon as possible.